The Clay County Sheriff’s Office worked with other area law enforcement agencies on Tuesday in response to a violent threat at the Ford plant in Claycomo. The threat was deemed as not credible later in the evening, but an Independence man is now in jail because of the event.

At about 5:20 pm on Tuesday, July 18, a call came into Ford’s safety and risk management team from a man who claimed to be armed with explosives, a rifle, and a handgun. He said he was barricaded in the second-floor bathroom in the paint area of the plant.

Ford ceased all production and evacuated the plant. Ford also canceled production for the night shift.

The man who called said he was an employee and was disgruntled. He gave a name that is not an actual employee of the paint area. He did name his supervisor with correct name. The Sheriff’s Office was not able to contact him since the initial call. Deputies pinged his phone and they believed the phone number that he used may have been spoofed.

Law enforcement officers searched the plant for six hours, and determined the person was not inside the plant.

On Wednesday, July 19, Zachariah A. Peterson, 19, of Independence was arrested at his home and charged in connection with the event. He is currently in the Clay County Detention Center and charged with making a terrorist threat which is a class D felony.

Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson believes Peterson made the threat to cause the evacuation of the Ford plant.

“He made a call to the plant stating he was armed with an AK-47 and a pound of C4 explosives strapped to his chest. He did that for the purpose of causing an evacuation so an acquaintance of his would not have to go to work,” said Thompson.

Peterson faces up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, if convicted. No one was injured in the incident.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story